ICT Enterprise: Banking Leads the Way in Digital Transformation

Banks have been facing something of a no-win situation for the last several months now, as increasingly frustrated customers wonder why they can’t get access to mobile payments tools like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay through their bank. The traditionally risk-averse bank, meanwhile, has had to fob off such desires into the wait-and-see camp, as it tried to figure out how to safely deliver such services. A new report from ICT Enterprise sent our way indicates that banks are coming around.

The latest word from ICT Enterprise notes that banks have thus far made big progress in digital transformation. This covers several different fronts, including not only new digital products and services for customers, but also a digital workplace strategy for the staff as well. Banks actually improved 42 percent over the course of this year, as measured by ICT’s Digital Maturity Progression Index. That’s second only to the telecom sector, which saw 43.9 percent improvement.

Banks weren’t the only ones to make gains; even healthcare, which had the lowest score of 10 different fields in the index, posted a 37.9 score. Companies added several different technologies, with one of the most popular additions being “data lakes and big data platforms”, while one of the least popular additions was “private blockchain.”

For any bank customer who’s been frustrated by the pace of technological advancement at the bank these days, this is great news. The banking industry is making huge strides, and it shouldn’t be too much longer before those advancements start making their way to the customer.

Banks have had to straddle a line for quite some time now, maintaining their image of safety and security above all—ask anyone what they think of when they think of “bank”, and the term “vault” likely isn’t too far from first—while also providing what customers want. Moreover, banks have also had to consider what all their customers want; many older customers, for example, aren’t interested in technological change.

Still, in the end, banks are making the necessary advancements for the next generation of customers. That’s good news for banks and their customers alike, who now get the services they want and are thus more likely to stay with the bank in question. There’s still plenty to do, but there’s no doubt progress is made.